September 4, 2008

Staff News

Message from Gage E. Paine, Vice President for Student Affairs

First and foremost
today, a very large and heartfelt thank you to everyone for such a
smooth and successful opening to the new academic year. The good
planning and preparation all year, the attention to detail and the
plain ol' hard work showed in the quality of our events and
services, the very positive comments in this week's CMO meeting and
in the resulting energy and enthusiasm displayed all across campus.
Last year at this time, I wrote about record numbers in attendance
at events and walking across our crowded, busy campus. Well, we're
breaking last year's records all over the place, especially evident
walking across campus and viewing the amazing changes, including our our
new food venues. It feels like we've had another huge growth spurt, but
we haven't. Students are staying on campus because there are more
and more reasons to stay and places to hang out. It's a great
feeling to experience such a vibrant atmosphere.

So now the hectic
days of moving into residence halls, of lost students trying to find
classrooms, and all the free food of Roadrunner Days are all over.
Now, it's what passes for routine on a college campus - classes,
student organization meetings, special events, processing reports,
sorting out start-of-year budget issues, and on and on through a
very full list. Before we run to the next thing, I'd like to
suggest we stop for just a moment and think about the reasons for
all of the fun that we arrange at the beginning of the year. Yes,
it's about fun for its own sake - fun has a place in our lives
and in our work. I hope you had fun as you inflated balloons,
handed out food, or were mobbed for those highly valued t-shirts. I
know students were having fun.

Of course, it's
not just about the fun, is it? Everything we do has a purpose
related to student success. Whether it's sending out an 'all call'
in Financial Aid and Enrollment Services to help with a long line or
making sure the inflatables stay inflated, we want students to feel
supported by and connected to UTSA. These feelings are important
for all students, but are critical for the newest students on campus
during the early weeks of their transition to college. We want them
to spend time here with others because we know this is an important
component of student success.

"In short, students
who are able to integrate the in-class and outside-of-class parts of
their lives can reap great benefits. Those of us who run or teach
at colleges routinely talk about financial aid packages for
students. It should be possible to help every student build an
'educational package'. Rather than saying 'Let's admit good
students and not get in their way,' we should admit our students and
then get in their way, in the most constructive sense, to help them
make these powerful connections."

Light goes on to talk
about research about outside-of-class experiences which debunks the
idea that academic work is harmed by such experiences. "To
summarize, two main findings stand out. If we aggregate all the
non-academic commitments of students, adding up total hours spent on
paid employment, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, and
athletics, there is no significant relationship between the level
of involvement and grades. Yet* there is a clear
relationship between participation and satisfaction with college. Students
involved in some outside-of-classroom activities are far happier
with their college experiences than the few who are not involved."

And we know because we
see it year after year that students who are happier with their
college experiences are better able to weather the tough times that
will occur in their lives. They are more likely to continue
progressing toward graduation. They know how to use their campus
resources more effectively because they know someone on campus who
can point them in the right direction. And they help set the tone
-
the campus culture for engagement - in all aspects of the educational
experience. All that from free t-shirts and Student Affairs
nametags!
J Ok,
maybe that's a stretch, but all the hard work to make the opening
days of the semester go as smoothly as possible does set a tone and
an expectation for the coming year. And if the last two weeks are
any indication, we are going to have a great 2008-2009!

Thank you for all the good work you have done, are doing, and will
continue to do!

Scott Slade McKinney is 9 lbs plus and both baby and mother are
doing well, although I think Dad needs a nap.

Please join me in congratulating Barry, Jan and Mark!

John Kaulfus

SAVE THIS DATE!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008 for the Student Affairs
Holiday

Luncheon - Details forthcoming

SECC 'Share Your Story'
Request

Dear UTSA Friends,

As a member of the
State Employee Charitable Campaign
(SECC)
Communications Committee I am asking if you would be willing to
share your story about how the SECC has benefitted you or your
family or friends. Or, please let me know if there are other people
in your area who we could approach with this request. As in the
past, we would like to feature brief stories on UTSA Today
about our personal experiences with the positive impact of the
various charities that SECC supports. If you are willing to share
your story or further contacts, please let me know and our committee
can arrange a brief interview.

Vouchers
for reimbursement of moving expenses require the approval of the
Vice President for that division. Please route paper copies of
these vouchers through the VPSA Office (not to Dr. Paine directly).
Once approved, these vouchers will be routed forward to the Payroll
office. For more information, please visit:

The UTSA Alumni Association hosted the ninth annual UTSA Alumni
Gala on August 16 at the Westin La Cantera Resort and Hotel. The
event included a Power Drawing for vacations and other prizes
and a silent auction featuring merchandise and services from
alumni business owners and other friends of UTSA.

On behalf of the Office of Orientation and Family Programs and
all of our Student Coordinators and Orientation Leaders, I would
like to thank each of you (and your staffs) for all of your hard
work this summer! This summer had to be one of the smoothest I
have experienced here at UTSA. We could not have done it without
you and truly appreciate the team support.

Attached (PDF)
is a little thank you card from us to you. Enjoy and have a
wonderful Fall semester. Go Roadrunners!

Roadrunner Camp Photos:

Please follow the link below to view Roadrunner Camp photos.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will find the
Roadrunner Camp 2008 link. You will need to save the file to
your desktop and then open it. There are approximately 100
photos in the file. Thank you to Stefanie Cisneros and Laura
Zamzow for the photos.

Multiple events, along with the President's Bar-B-Q and Spirit
Rally, started the fall semester in full swing. Members of the
UTSA community enjoyed the Campus Recreation Center at "Late
Night at the Rec. New students attending "Dive into the UC"
with free food and games learned about services offered in the
University Center on the 1604 Campus. Among celebrations,
also highlighted, was the UC III Grand Opening on August 26.

A new "Cultural Connections" program was highlighted, as well as
a Fajita Fest, sponsored by the Greek Councils and immediately
after the Fajita Fest, was the 13th annual Howdy
Rowdy Bash.

August 28th - It was about 9:20 am and I was walking
through the HSS building on my way to the University Center. A
couple of students came up to me and asked if I could help them
locate a room on the 2nd floor of the HSS. I
assisted these students and then another student approached me
for help. I showed this student where her class was and then
another student approached me.

I provided directions to this student and then two other students
approached me for assistance. I made some calls from the
Writing Center and found out that their class had been moved to
the Main Building. Then one other student asked me for help
because she could not locate her class in the HSS building. We
walked over to the kiosk and she looked up her schedule on
ASAP.

Turns out her class was on the 2nd floor of the UC and
not the HSS building. All of these students were very
appreciative and felt comfortable enough to ask for help because
I was wearing my name tag. I would have been just another face
in the crowd had I not been wearing my name tag.

Carol
Gonzalez

Do you have a comment to share?
Please send in your comments that you've received from students as well
as from other staff. We will feature the comments in future issues.
Send to
Vivis.Lemmons@utsa.edu.

Departmental News

Athletics

Area September All Sports Schedule:

Date

Team

Opponent

Location

Time (CT)

Fri, Sep 5

WS

Texas

at Austin, Texas

7 p.m.

Sat,
Sep 6

WCC

Texas
State Invitational

at
San Marcos, Texas

8
a.m.

Sat, Sep 6

MCC

Texas State Invitational

at San Marcos, Texas

8 a.m.

Wed,
Sep 10

VB

Georgia

San
Antonio, Texas

7
p.m.

Sat,
Sep 13

WCC

Texas
A&M Invitational

at
College Station, Texas

7:45
a.m.

Sat, Sep 13

MCC

Texas A&M Invitational

at College Station, Texas

7:45 a.m.

Wed,
Sep 17

VB

Texas-Pan
American

San
Antonio, Texas

7
p.m.

San Antonio named a finalist city in the hunt for
Women's Final FourArticle

See Tony Daniels'
(Associate Director, Campus Recreation Center)
interview when UTSA was visited by KABB TV on August 25.KABB
interview

Housing and Residence Life

UTSA student move-in kicks off fall semester

Over the Aug. 22-24 weekend, 1,250 students moved into UTSA resident
housing and had a chance to get situated before the first day of
school. Roadrunner Days officially kicked off Friday, Aug. 22 with
the Residence Hall Move-In. It's the first of several events that
lead up to the first day of class, this year on Aug. 27. UTSAToday Article

Inclusion and Community Engagement
Center (ICE)

15th Annual Babcock Road Clean-Up!

On Friday September 26, VOICES and the Inclusion & Community
Engagement Center will sponsor the 15th annual Babcock
Road Street Clean-Up. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to
help beautify our neighborhood from 10:00am - 3:00pm. We currently
need staff to volunteer to drive students in minivans from the
Convocation Center to the Babcock/UTSA Blvd. locations and back in
one hour shifts as follows:

10:00am - 11:00am

11:00am - 12:00pm

12:00pm - 1:00pm

1:00pm - 2:00pm

2:00pm - 3:00pm

Please contact Jennifer Lilly at
Jennifer.lilly@utsa.edu or
458-4770 if you would like to volunteer with us! If you are able to
do more than one shift that would be welcomed. By the way, all
volunteers will receive a free Babcock Rd. Clean-Up t-shirt! See
Complete ICE News (PDF)

My job is to travel across UTSA Student Affairs, from one staff
member to another to show appreciation for their work...such as,
taking extra assignments to provide support, offering unsolicited
assistance, or completing tasks in a unique way. Here are my rules:

Rowdy's Road Rules

Thank You Rowdy stays with his Student Affairs friend in
Student Affairs for two weeks. At that time Thank You
Rowdy
friend does the following:

Selects a new Student Affairs friend

Writes a special thank you message in the journal that Rowdy
keeps in his back pack

Sends an email message of her/his thank you to Vivis.Lemmons@utsa.edu
to include in the Kudos section of the VPSA newsletter. Sends an
email or calls Vivis at ext.7887, to schedule a photo presenting
Rowdy to his new friend.

Delivers Thank You Rowdy to his new friend

Background:
Joyce Fox custom shirt and back pack in September, 2007. She said that "Dr.
Paine came up with the idea for the 'Thank You Rowdy'. She just
asked me to dress and accessorize him."

Experience and Awards:
How can I possibly get it all into this one section?

Stefanie Cisneros came through when I worked with her in Career
Services. She wrote my resume which I carry around for all
Student Affairs staff to see! But just in case you're
interested, here's a link to it:
(Resume
Rowdy PDF)

I received a La Despedida (Graduation Farewell) pin from the Downtown
Student Activities.

Student Judicial Affairs, Campus Living Villages and Housing and
Residence Life (shared recipients) gave me a "Civility" pen for my backpack when
they passed me to Melissa Hernandez so I could be an ambassador
of Civility.

Barbara Reyes gave me a World AIDS Day pin and the Fiesta 2008
"?Tomas?
OManejas"
Medal. The medal was distributed during a Fiesta Press
Conference held at the Downtown campus (which I attended with Dr. Paine.)
Fred Hample from the Registrar's office gave me 2007 and 2008
Fiesta Medals.

I have received numerous buttons and pins and tags, for example,
a heart, a "great job" pin, an Admissions pen, a miniature laser
and whistle protection key chain from UTSA Counseling Services,
and a key chain from Student Financial Aid and Enrollment Services. All these gifts were
given to me because I'm such a "Good-Will Rowdy".

I received an
Honorary UTSA Roadrunner Club Member Pen.

Most curious of all: Career Services gave me a "Super Shine Shoe
Polisher" kit, and since I don't wear shoes, I'll just have to
buff my toenails like a good Student Affairs Rowdy!

There's more to add I'm sure, but I'll save that for later.....

How do you unwind?
I read all the accolades in my Thank You Rowdy Travelogue.
That's me in the picture above - reading and enjoying!

What is the most unusual job related case you have worked on?

I conducted a staff meeting held by the
Office of Vice President for Student Affairs.

What advice would you give to other Student Affairs staff?

Good
work deserves recognition. Pass me on!

How can we reach you?

Read about me on the web, UTSA,
Student Affairs, News and Events, Staff News, and maybe I'll be visiting with you
soon! Thank You
Rowdy Recipients

Thank You Rowdy has a special mission in Student Affairs - to travel across UTSA recognizing the good work of staff members.
Within the Division of Student Affairs, Thank You Rowdy is presented
from one Student Affairs staff member to another in recognition and
appreciation of work done well - taking extra assignments to provide
support, offering unsolicited assistance, or completing tasks in a
unique way.

Whatever the situation, contributions like this are made every day
and Thank You Rowdy helps us recognize them.

Thank you Rowdy reflects UTSA's spirit of community and reminds us
to remember it takes everyone to make UTSA a great place to work and
to learn.

Gage Paine

Kudos

Kudos to Paul Ayala and team from Jana Kennelly

You did a wonderful job these last two days at Roadrunner Camp. Your
effort to build the spirit and traditions of this university through
the various programming was outstanding! I received a voicemail
today from our Alum, Pat Clynes who attended the event and I wanted
to pass his regards on to you.

He thanked me for inviting him to Roadrunner Camp. He found it very
beneficial and said that we were right this was a program that he
really likes to be engaged with. He was extremely impressed because
he likes to see the university start new traditions and this was a
great one. He enjoyed seeing the new students and believes that
additional alumni should attend to experience the excitement of
campus life. He said to tell Kim, Paul, Lisa and Joey thank you for
the great job and to know that he just appreciated being apart of
it. He wants to talk to see what more he can do.

So kudos to Paul for his leadership and thanks to the rest of the
team.

Jana

Kudos to Robert Peek - Facilities Services

Lowa Mwilambwe, Kevin Price, and John Kaulfus want to publicly thank
Robert Peek for his day-to-day management of the UC III Expansion
project. Robert was tireless in his efforts to oversee daily
construction issues, troubleshoot problems with the contractors and
architects, and make himself available for last minute tours and
respond to requests for information. Great job, Robert! It was a
pleasure working with you.

From the Registrar's Office:

I work in the Registrar's office and part of my job is to answer
student calls and emails concerning graduation (and a bit of
everything else if I can). Last week I had several email exchanges
with a student that had missed a deadline. He was very upset
and took a less than courteous tone. He pelted me with
questions about UTSA rules including statements that our processes
were not fair for students and students are the ones who pay all the
tuition and fees.

Having encountered this student before in less than cordial ways,
my first instinct was to ignore his email since it seemed more like
a rant than a true inquiry. I thought that by answering, I would
only fuel him further. Then I thought, "what if I was in his
place?" Some of our processes can be confusing and I take for
granted how logical they seem to me because I work with them every
day. So I took each one of his questions and answered them to the
best of my ability. I was rather surprised in his reply...

?Thank you for that informative answer to all my questions! It's
nice to see that my, along with thousands of other students, tuition
and fee money goes towards hiring staff that is capable of coming up
with logical and thoughtful answers to students? questions, not
simply robotic responses meant to simply "shoo" away inquiries.?

Many times it is easy to say "that's the rules, it's in the
handbook" but sometimes a personal explanation eases student
confusions and anxieties. I do get the same questions every day,
but they are all coming from DIFFERENT students.